Marvin

Thursday, March 21, 2019Mar 21, 2019

Marvin features a precocious red-headed toddler who spends much of his time lost in his own thoughts and fantasy adventures.

Like most young children - and too many adults - Marvin is convinced that he’s the center of the universe. And as such, he believes that everything and everyone else revolves around him. He may be right. Marvin is definitely the epicenter of all the activity and chaos in his family! Marvin relegates his mom and dad, Jenny and Jeff, to the position of household staff.

Marvin has little patience on those occasions when his parents forget their social standing and actually presume to tell him what to do.

The other members of Marvin’s family include his grandparents, Bea and Roy. After losing their retirement savings and house in the 2008 recession, they moved in with Jenny and Jeff.

The Miller family wouldn’t be complete without the two canine residents: Bitsy, who considers himself to be far superior intellectually to Marvin and Junior, the grandparents’ troublemaking, angry little toy schnauzer. Finally, Marvin may have met his match!

Seen through the eyes of a chubby baby, Marvin takes a humorous peek in the window of today’s modern, extended family as they cope with life, different personalities and emotional overload all under one roof.

Six Marvin book collections have been published. "Marvin: A Star Is Born"; "Marvin Explains The Facts Of Life"; "Marvin: Born To Be Wild"; "Marvin: Spoil Me"; "Marvin: Shapes Up"; and "Marvin: Steps Out".

1996: The National Cartoonists Society presented Armstrong with the Segar Award for “extraordinary achievement and contributions to the field of cartoon art."

Tom Armstrong

Tom Armstrong, the creator of Marvin, was born in Evansville, Ind. in 1950.

While attending the University of Evansville, Armstrong served as staff cartoonist for the campus newspaper, The University Crescent. There, he drew a weekly strip about campus life called Two-S.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and received several awards, including the Helen Morris Outstanding Senior Award in oil painting, the Medal of Merit for significant contributions to collegiate journalism, and the Indiana Collegiate Press Association’s Best Editorial Cartoon Award.

After college, he spent a few years as a freelance illustrator. He worked with advertising agencies, and his drawings appeared in such magazines as the Saturday Evening Post and The National Review. He developed animated cartoons, multimedia slide presentations, television spots and print advertising for companies, such as RCA and Sears.

Armstrong received the Golden Circle Award three times for achieving the highest standards of advertising and selling excellence in worldwide competition.

In 1979, Armstrong teamed up with Funky Winkerbean creator Tom Batiuk to create John Darling. The strip, which starred an obnoxious (fictional) TV talk-show host, ran until 1990. Readers were astonished by the strip’s ending, in which an unknown assailant killed Darling.

Armstrong created Marvin in 1982. The strip’s excellence was recognized by the Northern California Cartoons and Humor Association, which awarded Marvin the "Best Comic Strip Award" in 1982. "Marvin: Baby of the Year", an animated prime-time TV special, aired on CBS in 1989. In 1996, the National Cartoonists Society presented Armstrong with its Segar Award. Named after the creator of Popeye, the award recognizes extraordinary achievement and contributions to the field of cartoon art.

Since its debut, Marvin has rated consistently high in newspaper reader polls. Armstrong credits the success of Marvin to the insight readers gain from the strip’s comic role reversal – adults say and do the darndest things.

Armstrong lives in Florida with his wife, Glenda, and their children, Jonathan and Jennifer. He is active in his church, serving as deacon chairman and on numerous committees.

In addition to producing the daily strip, Armstrong runs a very successful licensing company -- creating new licensing properties totally unrelated to Marvin. His most popular property was FaceOffs. More than 75 licensees around the world featured these bold, wacky, in-your-face graphics with attitudinal phrases on a wide variety of products, from socks, underwear, neckties and nightwear to cakes, candy and bubble gum. Burger King in Australia and New Zealand featured FaceOffs' molded mugs as a sell-out premium in 1999 and in 2000, Coca-Cola of Spain offered a promotion of FaceOffs' collectible 3-D toys.

His most recent licensing creation was LuvSymbols, which turned the ancient planetary symbols of men and women (Mars and Venus) into contemporary cartoon characters.

Marvin Miller

Marvin is a precocious, chubby, red-headed two-year-old who considers himself to be the center of the universe…and the boss of his family.

Jeff Miller

Marvin’s challenged parents are in a never-ending battle for truth, justice and the dream of one day getting their son potty-trained.

Jenny Miller

Marvin's parents remember (vaguely) when they had free time. That was, of course, before Marvin came into their lives. But while the Millers realize that caring for a baby, especially one like Marvin, is more than a full-time job, they are thrilled to be parents.

Roy and Bea

Marvin’s doting grandparents who live with him. Roy works part-time as a greeter at the local Allmart store, while Bea works full-time spoiling Marvin with her homemade chocolate-chip cookies.

Bitsy

The family mutt who “tolerates” Marvin and considers him to be his intellectual inferior.